I’ve heard, on the plains of Africa the mother giraffe, after giving birth to their children, will kick and poke them until they are standing tall and walking on their own.

Today, I got my own butt kicking, not from my mother giraffe, rather my father, a Scorpio.

You see, the giraffe kicks their child up onto its legs, not out of spite, but out of love. The momma is working to protect the baby from the local predators. In my case, my money hungry bank. You see after many weeks of watching my budget, I fell to the temptation of my debit card. A nasty convenience tool created, no doubt by the same bankers who smile and pretend to be your friend. You see, each time I over drew, regardless of the amount, I was charged $34. In a series of one day, I spent less then $20. However, because I charged the miscellaneous items four times and then some, I got hit $34 each time.

Like taking candy from a baby.

In total, at the end of the day, I owed XX Bank nearly $300. Luckily my dad got me up on my feet just in time. But he didn’t come out unbroken. He fronted the $300 - money he didn’t have. Yet it came at a cost. Not only did I receive a verbal ass beating, but a mental and fiscal one too.

It was a merry-go-round this morning. While I was trying to keep in contact with the bank, where I supposedly signed up for over draft protection - yeah, this isn’t the first time this has happened - I was also trying to keep my father in the loop, which is no easy task considering he fires questions and demands mid sentence.

After the screaming and shouting ended, my father and I finally began to discuss what exactly was the problem. You see, it wasn’t so much that I have a spending problem - okay, so I do - but more about choices.

I have $40 to my name. This amount will have to last me until my next paycheck. And then maybe more. It has come down to the point where I no longer have a choice nor an excuse for not making the right choice when it comes to my health, finances, etc.

So it looks like the next time I go to the store, I’ll be paying with paper, not plastic.